Hidden camera reveals the truth about neglect

Although there is a concern regarding privacy issues, many families use hidden video cameras to document neglect by nursing home employees.  These cameras are useful especially when the nursing home denies neglect or fails to supervise employees apporpriately.

I ran across an article that illustates my point perfectly.  An ex-employee of a Rochester nursing home admitted today that she neglected a patient in a case that included the use of a hidden camera.

Tammy Devos, 43, who was employed as a certified nurse’s aide at the Jennifer Matthew Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rochester, NY pleaded guilty to the misdemeanors of second-degree falsifying business records and willful violation of health laws.

She was sentenced to spend 16 weekends in county jail, beginning Sept. 1. As a condition of her plea, she agreed to surrender her nurse’s aide license.

She’s one of five former employees of the nursing home to face felony charges.
She was initially charged with first-degree falsifying business records, a felony.

Nine other former employees pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and received probation. The employees were charged after an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office that involved putting a hidden camera in a patient’s room in the spring of 2005.

According to court documents, the 70-year-old patient, who suffered from dementia, was not turned regularly, was allowed to lie in his own waste, and was not given adequate food or hydration. False entries were made in the patient’s records to show that proper care was given.